Using Math to Understand the World.

How Much Chicken Shawarma Should You Eat?

It has more vegetables, but the chicken shawarma platter at Ali Baba’s Middle Eastern Cuisine also boasts the same number of calories than a cheeseburger and two orders of onion rings.

Serving size: 757 grams

Calories: 969

Fat: 49 grams

Sodium: 3,179 milligrams

Carbohydrates: 69 grams

Protein: 63 grams

Splitting the meal is a key recommendation for those who are watching their sodium intake. With 3,179 milligrams of sodium — nearly 1,000 milligrams more than Health Canada’s maximum recommended daily allotment — this platter is seriously, severely salty.

“This is not a once-a-week meal with that amount of sodium,” Crocker says, referring to Kim’s weekly shawarma indulgence. She also points out that in the nutrition world a treat is something you might enjoy once a month, not once a week.

“This is where splitting the meal will really help to curb some of the numbers.”

For those with big appetites who worry that cutting the meal in half will leave them hungry, Crocker points out the platter’s 63 grams of protein is double the amount recommended for a single sitting.

“In so many ways, this is two meals in one.”

After learning the nutritional truth of his much-loved shawarma platter, Kim says he may split the meal to cut out sodium and some of its 50 grams of fat. It’s something he has considered in the past.